This weekend has the F1 circus returning to Bahrain for round 2 of the 2018 world championship.

Given the right circumstances, this should be a Mercedes benefit. With the ability to turn up the horsepower, Hamilton should be on pole.
Sebastian Vettel could be the cat among the pigeons with his ability to extract the most out of his Ferrari. From what I have read, he is not yet comfortable in this season's car. That said, Kimi seems right at home.
Valtteri Bottas is a bit of an enigma. I want to see him do well but he is sort of like Vettel and doesn't seem at home in the car at this time.
Next should be the battle of the Red Bulls. I still feel the lack of straight line speed will be their undoing.
Surprise performances by the Haas team in Australia and the lack of results should fuel their desire. The cars seem fast at this time of the season closely followed by the McLarens.
Now we venture to the slightly disappointing part of the grid. Force India, Renault, then maybe Williams, Toro Rosso and then Sauber. I would like to see this bunch mixed up but we will see.

Despite Vettel's win in Australia, this year Hamilton has an easier fight on his hands than last year!

Had Bottas been up there or Vettel running second, Hamilton (or possibly Raikkonen) would have won. Vettel was fortunate and you have to be way too fortunate for the same to happen again.

I think it will be Hamilton Bottas then Ferrari and Red Bull mixed (in Australia Ricciardo was actually quicker than Raikkonen later in the race ...

Haas lost some big points in Australia and as the season progresses they will be caught by the likes of McLaren and Renault due to faster development! but I think they will still be ahead in Bahrain with McLaren close (if we are to believe that they have a huge update in Bahrain)

I feel sorry for the downfall of Williams, this is the second most successful team in F1 history yet now they adopt a pay driver policy not for one but both their drivers ...

Force India... despite what they say, the problems surrounding their owner must have affected their preparations for this season and hence their drop ... the Renault powered cars improved argument is rubbish, they have a Mercedes engine!

Toro Rosso ... they are now the Honda guinea pigs ... enough said

Sauber... 15 years ago they were what Haas is today, good to seem them still running but are becoming the Minardis of F1

Practice 2 is in the record books.
This session is held at roughly the same time as qualifying and the race so is more indicative of what should happen in the following days.

Ferrari seems to be really quick and, more importantly, stable throughout their lap.
Mercedes could be hiding their aces but they don't seem to be as stable in their laps. This is highlighted by the off tracks and occasional locked brakes throughout the session by both drivers.
Red Bull have their program back on track following the electrical gremlins in Max's car in session 1.
Toro Rosso, with Pierre Gasly, was the biggest surprise in the session finishing the session in 8th.

Hamilton takes a 5 grid place penalty into the race and should start in grid position 9
Max Verstappen crashed into the outside barrier of turn 2 in Q1. He was classified in Q1 with the 4th fastest time.

Perez crossed the finish line in 12th but had 30s added to his race time for passing on the formation lap.
Hartley crossed the finish line in 13th but had 30s added to his race time for failing to retake his original starting position before reaching the safety-car line on the formation lap.

That was a good race from Ferrari and Vettel who managed to last on worn tyres ... they gambled and it worked. Felt sorry for Raikkonen though!

I was suprised by the lack of pace from Hamilton ... yes he started with a penalty but he recovered quickly. His one stop didn't work at all!

I think though that Bahrain suited the Ferrari more than Mercedes unlike in Australia where it was the other way around. I think Mercedes still have an edge and that will show in the next race where they usually do better (Mercedes won in the last 4 years!)

Gasley impressed me most, getting the Toro Rosso Honda ahead of all those including the 2 McLarens was an achievement. I doubt anyone thought Honda can recover this quick ... lets hope they continue to show improvements. On the other hand McLaren were disappointing after a worst qualifying than Australia particularly after stating that they have big upgrades coming!

Vettel drove an excellent race and the strategies of both the Ferrari of Vettel and the Mercedes of Bottas could have resulted in a victory for either. The closing stages were one for the history books.

Hamilton suffered through his 5 place grid penalty and. although his start was spot on, his position on the track left him with nowhere to go once his launch was complete. I think that he realizes the value of amassing points throughout the whole season so he took his safe passes when they were presented to him. The tangle with Verstappen could have ruined his day but Verstappen was the one to endure the pain of a no point event.

Gasly was my Driver of the Day. A cool head on young shoulders in the way he fought back after the pass by Magnussen really set up the rest of his race.